Rupert Everett to Direct Oscar Wilde Biopic

Rupert Everett clearly has a thing for Oscar Wilde. He’s starred in two movies adapted from the fin-de-siècle author’s works, The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband, and has been active in the restoration of his tomb. Now, Variety is reporting the news from Cannes that he’s directing and starring in a Wilde biopic. Titled The Happy Prince, after the writer’s children’s story of the same name, it will follow Wilde’s dark final days, with a tone more comic than tragic. The film, which will be Everett’s directorial debut, will shoot next summer, with a cast that also includes Emma Watson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, and Edward Fox.